Fr Leonard E Dollentas
When Jesuit Fr Stephen Chow Sau-yan received his appointment as the new bishop of Hong Kong, he was shocked, and initially, he refused.
Like Fr Chow, most bishops appointed are caught by surprise when chosen because they were never aware they were being considered for the job. A bishop has a pivotal position in the church. He is called a ‘pontifex,’ that is, a bridge-builder, which is a more challenging ministry in the church.
The bishop selection process is protected by “pontifical secret” – the Vatican’s top confidentiality classification changed and developed much over the Church’s 2,000-year history.
The current process for selecting bishops ordinarily begins locally. The process adopted in the case of Hong Kong Diocese may differ, but ordinarily, the process follows a typical procedure.
The Need for a New Bishop arises
The entire process of nominating and appointing a bishop usually takes six months to a year from the date a diocese becomes vacant due to the death of the current bishop or his valid resignation from office. A vacancy can also be created when a bishop is transferred to another diocese.
The Research Phase
The country’s apostolic nuncio or the pope’s representative in a country or region plays an important role in the process of selecting a new bishop. After the vacancy of a diocese, the nuncio consults with the bishops of the ecclesiastical province to which that diocese belongs, with the president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops and with others as the nuncio wishes.
In time, those consulted will send the names of candidates (with the initial evaluation of each) to the nuncio. The nuncio conducts his own inquiry into the suitability of the candidates and gathers information from 20 to 30 people who know each of the candidates.
More recently, Pope Francis has asked nuncios to reach out to a wide variety of people, including clergy, religious, and laypeople, when gathering feedback. The process requires them to respond to a questionnaire in the strictest confidentiality.
After the nuncio has examined all the information given, he composes a “terna.” It is a report prepared on three candidates, listed alphabetically, with the nuncio’s preference indicated. This report is usually forwarded to the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops (or the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in the case of mission countries, the Congregation for the Oriental Churches including Latin bishops in certain Middle Eastern countries and Greece, the Secretariat of State if the country’s government has been given the right to be involved in some way.)
The Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops receives the terna
When the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops receives and approves the “terna” submitted by the nuncio, the process moves ahead. The prefect chooses a member of his staff to organize a summary of the submitted information, which in turn is submitted to the entire congregation.
The terna is discussed
Members of the congregation discuss the candidates on the list and take a vote. They can either support the nuncio’s recommendation, choose another priest to move to the top of the terna, or ask that another terna be composed.
The Pope decides
The decision will be handed to the prefect of the congregation who meets privately with the pope. During the meeting, he presents the terna, given in a particular order with the congregation’s choice at the top.
At this final stage, the pope may agree with the proposal of the congregation, he may choose another candidate on the list, he may ask for a new terna to be submitted, or he could choose his own candidate.
The Nominee is informed
The Pope’s decision is rendered to the Congregation in a few days’ time. The nuncio will be informed, who in turn will notify the nominee. The nominee will be given the option to accept the appointment. Nominees may refuse the episcopal office, but it must be for good reason. In most cases that this happens, nominees are given time to prayerfully reflect on the appointment.
If the answer is “yes,” the nuncio arranges with the Holy See to set a date for the announcement of the appointment.
After a two- to four-week period, the public announcement will be made. Before the public announcement, the bishop-elect is not allowed to discuss his appointment. (Photo from Vatican News)
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